Chapter 258: Merlin Trials (2/2)

Leonel shook his head. Even if he was, just judging by how far Maugrier had gone with his Bowman King legacy it was obvious that the Merlin Trials should be beneficial to demons as well.

'If this is all true, then why is it that I was recalled back to Camelot…? Shouldn't we all be trying our best to reclaim the land we lost in retreat?'

As Leonel was lost in thought, the person he most wanted to see now came. He really couldn't stifle his questions anymore.

What were the Merlin Trials really? Why were they recalled to Camelot if it was so important?

Leonel opened the doors to his residence only to find Elys on the other side.

He was a bit surprised. He had been certain that it would be Lionus, but it was Elys instead.

”The Prince was suddenly called by the Royal Court, so he sent me with his apologies for missing your meeting.”

”Oh?” Leonel nodded. ”It's not a big deal. You can come in, I do still have some questions.”

Elys smiled and accepted Leonel's invitation.

She was surprised to see just how clean and meticulous Leonel's room was. It was almost as though he wasn't living in it at all. It couldn't be said that she entered the room of men often, but she knew that even a woman's room wouldn't necessarily be so orderly.

Of course, what Elys didn't know was that this was the product of his father's teachings. It could be said that the only reason this side of Leonel didn't show more was because of how odd the times were. He didn't really have a place to call home on Earth currently unless the Segmented Cube was counted.

Every since Elys watched Leonel battle and kill Gorgo, she had become more reserved around him. Though she had known he was powerful after watching his battle with Lamorak, it was difficult to fuse the state he ended up in with a powerful persona.

”You can sit anywhere.” Leonel said casually. ”Did you really only come here today to answer my questions? Or did you have another purpose?”

”Oh!” Elys snapped out of her thoughts. ”Yes, yes. I wanted to say that you've gained a great number of merits. The death of a Demon Lord is already enough to be promoted to a Two Star Magus. But, you actually killed two. This falls just a bit short of enough to become a Three Star Magus…

”As long as you pass the standardization tests, you'll be able to raise your standing in the Mage Academy.”

Leonel nodded, accepting the crystal Elys passed over to him. It likely held information about his merits and could be considered his proof.

”So about these Merlin Trials…”

Leonel tried to steer the conversation away from this topic. He wasn't very interested in  promotion right now. At most, he'd promote to a Three Star Official Mage so that he could read the Level Nine books within the library.

”This…” Elys' eyes went dim for a moment. ”… Since you've gained so many merits, it should be fine…

”The Merlin Trials have existed even before His Majesty King Arthur established Camelot. It has picked a great many heroes in its time but His Majesty was the one who traveled the furthest down this road.

”The truth is that the Merlin Trials are separated into Minor Openings and Major Openings. This is most definitely a Major Opening.

”Minor Openings find individuals to test while Major Openings are open to all. But, in return, Major Openings are several times more dangerous, not only because of the trials within, but also because of our fellow man…

”It could be said that all the major players of Camelot and Modred's Demon Army have all benefited from the Merlin Trials in one way or another, so it's not a chance anyone wants to miss…”

Leonel's brows knit. Could it be that Maugrier's Bowman King inheritance was the product of a Minor Opening?

”Are there any other differences between a Minor and  Major Opening…?”

Elys shook her head. ”It's too hard to tell. Normally, someone who benefitted from a Minor Opening wouldn't easily divulge this information. But, from what we do know, it should be impossible to gain the true core inheritances of Legendary Magus Merlin unless it's attained during the Major Opening…

”However, there are some clues that point toward the idea that having benefitted from a Minor Opening makes doing the same in a Major Opening easier…

”Some scholars believe that this is Legendary Magus Merlin picking out successors. He will first pick out individuals, then have them fight the masses to temper them…. 50 years ago, His Majesty King Arthur was one such person.

”The sword in the stone was his Minor Opening, and 50 years ago, he swept through the world of the Major Opening and established our Kingdom!”